Door peep observation device



y 9, 1953 G. H. BERLEME 2,638,810

DOOR PEEP OBSERVATION DEVICE Filed May 24, I951 T i E IN VEN TOR.

GEORGE HOEPFNER BERLEME A T TORNEYS Patented May 19, 1953 UNITED STATES?PATENT OFFICE DOOR PEEP OBSERVATION DEVICE George-H. Berleme, Brooklyn,N. Y.

Application May'24, 1951, Serial No. 227,997

1 Claim. I

This invention relates to observation devices andhas particular relationtoan observation device adapted for installation in a circular'doorhole; Devices of the presenttvpe aregenerally termedas peep holes'in theart.

Prior devices adapted for observation through a door hole have thedisadvantage that they are not readily assembled and may not betelescopio'ally assembled" in accurate alignment and in substantiallyperfect telescopic relationship. The prior art devices of this generaltype also have the disadvantage that they maybe disassembled from eitherthe outside or the inside.

Accordingly; it is an object of the present in vention to provide anobservation device which may be mounted in asimple circular opening inany door to permit inspection by a person on the interior side' of thedoor' of persons desiring to enter or attempting to enter the doorbefore it" is-openedi Another object of the invention is to provideanobservation device for inspection purposes which provides an unusuallywide angl'e lens systern: comprising alarge concave negative lensmatchedwith a convex positive lens or eye piece lens; so that-the entireo'odyof. the person or persons seeking-entrance may bevi'ewed even thoughsuch person orperscns are standing in'olose proximity'tdthe door or'tothe'l'efthand or'right hand side of 'the device; or below'thedevice.

Another object of the invention is to provide an observationdevicethrough which an observer can view only from the inside lookingout and which is essentially and exceptionally simple toinstall} in. anynormal wood or metal door and whi hen installs-d can be simple andsecurely lo rplace and cannot be removed or tampered v i h from theoutside; and which can be removed from the door only the use of aspecial a key"- provided with the device which must be applied to thedevice on the inside of the door in order to permit removal of thedevice from the door.

Another object of the inventionis to provide an observation device whichwill permit simple and ready telescopic assembly so that the device" maybe installedproperly by any normal person without the aid of skilledworkmen.

These and other objects of the invention will be understood by referenceto the following description and accompanying drawing.

The present invention generally comprises an observation device adaptedfor installation in a door hole comprising a tube of substantially'doorhole diameter and having a rim-like facing at one end, the inner andouter diameters'oiisaid facing being respectively smaller and largerthan the respective inner and outer diameters of said tubeto-provideinner and outer shoulders therefor, a concave wide-anglenegative lens with its major diameter substantially that of the insideoi the tube and positioned in the faced end of'ther tube with the flatface of the lens seated against said inner shoulder, a thin-walled linerin the tube having one end in edge abutting relation with the lens, anend plate mounted in the other end of said tube, said" end plate havinga peri'pheral: shoulder at its inner edge in abutment with:

i the other end of said liner; an" inner circumfer enti'al groove insaid other end of said" tube adjacent said end plate, a spring ringpositioned in' saidv groove and abutting against said end plate shoulderfor locking said end plate against the said other end of the liner, anaxial borehole in said end plate; an inwardly extending flange portiondepending from the outer end of said here hole; an inner circumferentialgroove adjacent the inner end of said bore hole, a' convex positivelens-mounted'insaidbore hole between said flange and? groove; a springring mounted insaid groove and locking said lens against said flange, ashutter pivotally mounted on the outer face of said end; plate and:adapted to cover saidbore hole, and a locking collar encircling theother end of the tube, irhereby the observation device may be lockedinthe door hole by theclamping engagement of the outer and inner doorsides between the outer facing shoulder of the tube and the tube lockingcollar.

In one embodiment the liner in the tubeis jammedbetween the inner wallof the tube and the small end of the tapered lens. In a preferredembodiment the tube is of metal and the tube liner preferably comprisesa paper construction, as of solid kraft paper tubing which is forcedintothe cylinder until its fits tightly and slightly overlaps thetapered end of the lens thereby only holding the lens in place. It isalso contemplated that the liner may be of side of the door.

molded plastic material or metal. Additionally, in a preferredconstruction a radially positioned set screw is provided in the lockingcollar whereby the assembled observation device may be locked in thedoor hole and may not be removed without a special key, as of thePhillips type, adapted to fit the concealed set screw.

Thus the invention consists in the novel and simple arrangement andcombination of parts hereinafter more particularly described andclaimed, and referring now to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view of an observation device embodying thepresent invention and shown in assembled position;

Fig. 2 is an exploded sectional view of the device as shown in Fig. 1;and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a special key adapted to fit the head ofthe set screw shown I in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring now to the drawings, I is a cylindrical metal housing providedwith a facing flange I having an outer rounded face I2. The housing ispreferably die cast in one piece and is provided with a sharpened outerflange edge l3 in order to provide tight contact with the outer surfaceof the door (not shown) in which it is installed. The housing is alsoprovided with an inner flange edge l4 adapted to retain a concavewide-angle negative lens |5 in the tube opening.

The negative lens I5 is provided with a tapered edge I6 and ispositioned in the housing Iu'withits larger diameter face IT in abutmentwith the inner flange portion I5 of the housing. A tube liner 20, as ofsolid kraft paper, is adapted to be snugly fitted into the housing andextend from about the inner flange I4 at the front of the housing to theinner edge of the flange 3| of the eye piece holder 30. By the use of aresilient liner 20, the leading edge portion thereof may be pressed intothe wedge-shaped annular area defined by the tapered edge I6 of thenegative lens and the inner wall of the housing I0, as shown at 2|. Thisconstruction provides a tight fit for the negative lens l5 which isrelatively tamper proof and water proof.

A lens holder or end plate 30, having an outwardly extending annularflange 3| at its inner peripheral edge and an axial bore hole 32, isprovided to be snugly fitted in the other end of the housing. The innerwall of the housing is provided adjacent said other end with an annulargroove 34 adapted to receive a spring ring 35 for retaining the eyepiece holder 3|! in place in the housing II] in abutment against the endof the tube liner 20. Likewise, a circular cutout portion 33 in the lensholder 30 is provided with an annular groove 35 adapted to receive aspring ring 31 for holding the eye piece lens 40 in position against aflange portion 38 adjacent the outer side of the lens holder.

A retaining ring 5|! is adapted to be slidably fitted over the outsideof the main cylindrical housing I (I on the inside position of the doorafter the cylinder has been placed through a hole in the door from theoutside. The sliding retaining ring 50 is moved along the end of thecylinder until the ring establishes contact with the inner surface ofthe door. To this end, the retaining ring 50 is provided with a flatflange portion 5| adapted to fit snugly against the inner Preferably,the retaining ring 53 is provided with an outer surface of generallycurved character as indicated at 52. It will be apparent that theretaining ring may be mounted, as by screw threading or bayonet locking,onto the retaining ring II]. In the form shown, the retaining ring 50 issecurely locked in place by means of a set screw 60 mounted in a radialhole 6| on the perimeter of the retaining ring 50 so that when the setscrew is screwed inwardly, it tightens against the cylinder wallof themain housing 50, as at 62, to prevent movement of the ring. A set screw80 (Figure 3) is provided with a special configuration as at 82. Thehead 63 of the set screw is provided with agspecial configuration so asto form a female mating member with the head of the set screw shown inFig. 3. Additionally, in a preferred form, the eye piece holder 30carries a shutter 65 which is rotatably mounted on a retaining pin 86,the pin being positioned in a bore hole 61 in the eye pieceholder, 30 sothat the shutter 65 is free to fall in place by gravity and cover thelens Ml thereby preventing any possibility of light rays passing throughthe observation device when the shutter is in the normal closedposition.

In assembling the device, the negative lens element I5 is firstpositioned in the main housing Ill with its larger side edge in abutmentagainst the inner flange portion I4 of the housing. Thereafter, theresilient tube liner 20 is inserted in the housing and is pressedinwardly, preferably to fill the space between the negative lens taperededge I6, as shown by the reference character 2 I. The eye piece lenselement 40 is placed in the opening 33 in the lens holder against theflange 38 and the spring ring 31 is positioned in the circular groove36, whereby the eye piece lens II! may be secured in place by the springrmg.

Thereafter the lens holder 3|! is inserted in the housing with theannular flange 3| pressing against the tube liner 20 and the spring ring34 is positioned in the annular groove 35 in the housing to furthertighten the negative lens I5 in position. Thereafter, the retaining ring50 is mounted on the housing and positioned inwardly against the innerside of the door so that the flange 5| of the sliding retaining ringfits snugly against the inner door face. The set screw 63 is thentightened by means of the key shown in Fig. 3, so that the set screwbears against the outer wall of the housing as shown at 62.

In a preferred form, the housing, the eye piece holder, and theretaining ring are all made of metal or of brass although it will beunderstood that other materials such as hard thermosetting type plasticsmay be used. In one embodiment, the present invention was constructedwith the housing die cast in one piece being 1% inches outside diameterand. two inches in overall length, the flange front being two inches indiameter. The negative lens was constructed with 11% inch in its majordiameter tapering to '1 inch in its inner and minor diameter and beinginch thick at its outer edge. The eye piece holder was fashioned 11%inches in diameter and inch in thickness, the eye piece lens being of aninch in diameter and approximately of, an inch in thickness. The slidingretaining ring was fashioned 1%of an inch in outside diameter and 1% ofan inch thick so as to fit over the inner portion of the maincylindrical housing after the cylinder has been placed through a hole inthe door.

It will be apparent that various modifications may be made in thepresent invention without departing therefrom, and while the inventionhas been shown in a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that itis intended to include all such facing being respectively smaller andlarger than the respective inner and outer diameters of said tube toprovide inner and outer shoulders therefor, a concave wide-anglenegative lens with its major diameter substantially that of the insideof the tube and positioned in the faced end of the tube with the flatface of the lens seated against said inner shoulder, a thin-walled linerin the tube having one end in edge abutting relation with the lens, anend plate mounted in the other end of said tube, said end plate having aperipheral shoulder at its inner edge in abutment with the other end ofsaid liner, an inner circumferential groove in said other end of saidtube adjacent said end plate, a spring ring positioned in said grooveand abutting against said end plate shoulder for locking said end plateagainst the said other end of the liner, an axial bore hole in said endplate, an inwardly extending flange portion depending from the outer endof said bore hole, an inner circumferential groove adjacent the innerend of said bore hole, a con- Vex positive lens mounted in said borehole between said flange and said groove, a spring ring mounted in saidgroove and locking said lens against said flange, and a locking collarencircling the other end of the tube, whereby the observation device maybe locked in the door hole by the clamping engagement of the outer andinner door sides between the outer facing shoulder of the tube and thetube locking collar.

GEORGE H. BERLEME.

Referenees Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,948,588 Martin Feb. 27, 1934 2,064,963 Wheeler Dec. 22, 19362,229,594 Seiler Jan. 21, 1941 2,262,203 Redstone et al. Nov. 11, 19412,362,603 Wittel Nov. 14, 1944

